As a noun, it means a person whose job is cutting up and selling meat. As a verb, it means to kill and cut up animals for meat, or to do something very badly, like 'to butcher a song.'
From Old French 'boucher,' meaning 'slaughterer of goats,' related to 'bouc' meaning 'he-goat.' The word came into English in the Middle Ages along with many food-related terms from French. Over time, it expanded from goat-killing to meat-cutting in general.
Try Another Word